


“You're not always intolerable for a little brother.”

by FeralCreed



Category: Marvel, X-Men
Genre: Alex is still an asshole, Brotherly Bonding, Brothers, Gen, arcade games, at times - Freeform, brother rivalry, sort of, written for Elli
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-04
Updated: 2017-06-04
Packaged: 2018-11-08 21:28:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11090289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeralCreed/pseuds/FeralCreed





	“You're not always intolerable for a little brother.”

“Hey, Alex.” 

“The fuck you want,” Alex mutters, not looking up from the game he’s playing. 

“For you to teach me what you’re doing.” 

That surprises Alex enough that he gets distracted, and that’s it for rewriting his high score. Rather than starting another try, he turns and stares at his brother, resting his hip against the game. 

“You want to learn to play arcade games,” he says, just to make sure Scott isn’t off in La La Land and thinking they’re on the same page when they’re not. 

“Yes?” 

Alex scoffs and turns back to the game. “Come back when you get a definitive answer.” He’s about to start another game when Scott’s hand settles on his wrist. 

“I’m sure,” Scott insists. 

“First off, remove your hand or I’m gonna knee you in the dick again. Second, why?” 

“Because I’m a shit brother that needs to be more interested in stuff you like?” 

“You're a shit brother, yeah, but don't beat yourself up about it,” Alex tells him, clapping him on the shoulder in away that could almost be considered friendly. “I survived this long without you trying to screw up my life, I sure as hell don't need you now.” 

“Thanks,” Scott says dryly. “But I'm serious, Alex. I have never been there for you or been able to help you or anything. Which was my fault. And I'm not asking for an all-access pass to what goes on in your life. Just the chance to play a couple rounds of Pac-Man against my little brother.” 

Alex heaves a 'Lord give me the strength' sigh. “Fine. Watch and learn.” He intentionally makes his actions as hard to follow as possible and wins the game with a significant score. “All right, your turn.” Scott stares at him like he's grown two more heads. “Go on. Learn by doing or whatever it is the Professor says.” 

Scott, predictably, performs about as well as a lead balloon. He glares at Alex, who is clearly having the time of his life, and simply steps back from the game. “Okay, do that again, but slower. So I can see what you're doing.” 

He is, evidently, the biggest drag on his brother's life. Or a least that's the impression he gets from Alex's eye rolling. But the younger man shoves him out of the way to demonstrate, and Scott can tell he's getting a kick out of being able to do something better than him. Which isn't too unusual, honestly, but Scott is determined to learn this no matter what. 

To the surprise of both of them, he does. His score is barely a hundreth of Alex's better ones, a fact that he is made well aware of, but the game lasts longer than ten seconds. Alex clearly finds his attempts amusing, but Scott is patient about it all and gradually gets better. It shouldn't be relaxing or fun to be defeated by a bunch of pixels, but it can get Alex to talk to him, guaranteed. 

“Beat you again,” Alex informs him almost every day. Scott knows he isn't much of an opponent, but every time, Alex has a cocky little grin. It's the smile he has when he's proud of himself, so he can live with getting constantly defeated. And he starts being able to beat some of the other kids. 

“Hey Alex,” Scott says one morning, as his little brother shuffles into the kitchen in search of breakfast. He gets a mumbled grunt in reply. Clearly Alex isn't awake yet. “Beat you.” The sleepy, confused look he gets in return is mixed with a touch of horror. And then Alex runs to check if Scott is right. 

He comes back looking stunned and Scott can't help a laugh. “I'm sure you'll catch up to me soon,” he consoles him. 

“You only have the bottom two top scores,” Alex grumbles. 

“Well, yeah, you're still better than me. And not just at the games. You're... extraordinary, Alex. You're the one who's special. Gonna make a difference in the world, maybe even change it.” 

“I... I'm sure I'd appreciate that if I'd had my coffee.” 

Scott laughs, relieved that the serious moment was lightened. “You're not always intolerable for a little brother.” 

“You're only mostly intolerable for an older one.” 

“Wow, thanks, jerk,” he says. He hands over a mug of coffee anyway, which Alex takes sleepily. After one sip, he spits it out all over the counter, practically gagging at the taste of salted coffee. Scott laughs and moves away from the coffeepot when Alex clearly threatens him. “I was thinking,” he mentions a few minutes later. “There's an arcade in town. You could probably wipe the floor with the rest of those kids but I bet I could beat you.” 

“Could not,” Alex protests immediately. 

“All right, then let's prove it.” 

“You're on.” Scott returns his grin and wonders if his brother knows just how happy he looks when he smiles like that. When they're safe at home and happy. It might have taken them months to come to terms with each other after realising they were related, but... Scott couldn't be happier with the way it all turned out. He pretends he doesn't notice Alex stealing his mug the second he puts it down and starts talking about breakfast instead. Alex will help, he knows that, and there's a sense of easy familiarity when they actually do manage to work together. More than the mansion, the Professor, the team – Alex was his home.


End file.
